The industry’s first purpose-built microwave router

CTR is a concept that merges the functionality of an indoor microwave modem unit and a cell site router into a single integrated solution, simplifying IP/MPLS deployments and creating a better performing network.

Applications

  • Access
  • Pre-Aggregation
  • Aggregation

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What is IP/MPLS-Based Wireless Transport?

IP/MPLS microwave integrates routing capability into microwave devices. With integrated IP/MPLS wireless transport solutions from Aviat Networks, operators can save costs, improve network performance, simplify operations, and enable new services.

More about our IP/MPLS-based wireless transport technology

Benefits

  • Save money – fewer boxes to buy, deploy, maintain
  • Improve network performance – less latency from fewer devices, layer 3 awareness into wireless transport (AMA – adaptive media awareness)
  • Enable new services – deliver new enterprise and government services from single converged network infrastructure

Find out more

Watch this whiteboard video to learn why CTR is the most innovative wireless transport solution on the market today

Industry’s smallest multi-service wireless hub

Mobile cell sites are transitioning from simple base stations for voice and low-speed mobile data access to multi-functional hubs for delivery of new services, multi-media-rich content and broadband data access.

CTR is the most compact device to converge all services onto a single transport infrastructure.

Real benefits for your network

Click on this infographic to see how CTR can save money, improve network performance and enable new services.

Infographic

CTR is the only wireless transport device with Adaptive Media Awareness

Adaptive Media Awareness (AMA) enables higher layer routing protocols to be aware in real time of the conditions of underlying transport layer (i.e. the microwave).

AMA will drastically improve:

  • network performance,
  • reliability,
  • AND lower operations costs.
White Paper

Did you know

ctr8540-microwave-router

Our CTR 8540 is a compact, 1RU size chassis with modular optional plug-ins


High density ports

  • 12 x GbE ports, including 4xSFP ports
  • 8 x PoE ports
  • 16 x T1/E1 ports for legacy TDM and PWE
  • Highest ODU density per rack unit – up to 8 ODUs (Eclipse and WTM compatible)
  • Additional plug-in modules support STM-1, TDM ports

High capacity enablers

  • L1 LAG - 4 Gbit/s throughput in 1RU (8x500Mbit/s)
  • Higher modulation : QPSK-1024 QAM, with ACM
  • 1+0, 1+1 Hot Standby, Space or Frequency diversity
  • X-pol interference cancellation (XPIC)
  • Multi-layer header compression (ML-HC) - up to 300% throughout improvement

Advanced networking

  • Carrier Ethernet/L2 services  - QoS, VLAN and Q-in-Q support, RSTP/MSTP, L2LA (802.1AX), EOAM
  • IP/MPLS networking – IPv4, Dynamic Routing Protocols (RIP, OSPF, BGP ,ISIS),
    MPLS L2 VPN (VPLS), VRF (Virtual Routing Facility), MPLS OAM

Microwave networking

  • Media aware: pre-emptive communication of radio bandwidth to higher layers
  • Integrated failure recovery across all layers
  • Integrated protection of radio-router interface
Aviat Networks-RFS 4G case study
How Microwave Networking Enables Nationwide 4G

LTE mobile connectivity now exists in many more urban places than not. Virtually all big cities have multiple choices for LTE and most have at least one choice for LTE Advanced—the real 4G wireless. For example, you can see iPhone and Android users taking advantage of all this high-capacity coverage as they leisurely view high-definition YouTube videos without buffering and actually livestream major league sports in cafes, parks and just walking around at lunch.

Read post

Much-like-the-USS-Enterprise-in-Star-Trek-Mobile-Operators-must-go-where-no-one-has-gone-before-in-search-of-customers-April-07-2014
Up to the Challenge? Mobile Operators Look for New Business

The mobile phone industry has been mature for some time. Around the world, most people who want and are able to use a cellular handset already have one—sometimes more than one. Even with innovations such as HSPA+, LTE and LTE-A becoming mainstream, average revenue per user (ARPU) continues to decline. Mobile operators may be at the crossroads. They are certainly at an inflection point. How to counter the trend is what operators must decide.

Read post


CTR Routers (ETSI) Data sheet: CTR Routers (ETSI)
Because CTR 8000 routers are purpose-built for microwave and transport networks, you won’t pay for features you don’t need. Their robust IP/MPLS feature set makes these routers the affordable routing solution for both fiber and wireless connected sites – without the need for an extra box – significantly reducing TCO.
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RFS and Aviat Enable Top Tier Network Expansion Case study: RFS and Aviat Enable Top Tier Network Expansion
Aviat Networks, Inc. and RFS were tasked with supporting the backhaul needs for a nationwide, rural 4G LTE rollout. Aviat Networks was hired by a Tier 1 North American carrier to support its backhaul needs for a nationwide, rural LTE rollout. This comprehensive expansion of the carrier’s 4G LTE network will ultimately bring best-in-class wireless service to 300 million customers throughout the US. An extremely aggressive plan was imposed for installing the network infrastructure, which includes Aviat’s CTR 8540 and CTR 8312 microwave solutions as well as ODU 600 split-mount radios and Aviat’s ProVision network management system – within only a few months.
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IP/MPLS in the mobile backhaul Case study: IP/MPLS in the mobile backhaul
This case study describes how a leading African mobile operator used the CTR platform of microwave routers to extend its IP/MPLS infrastructure from the core and metro networks all the way to the access network.
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CTR Microwave Transport Routers Data sheet: CTR Microwave Transport Routers

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Chugach Electric’s Measured Approach to Migrating Teleprotection to IP/MPLS Case study: Chugach Electric’s Measured Approach to Migrating Teleprotection to IP/MPLS
Chugach Electric’s network migration began in 2010, when they first identified upcoming issues with their existing network, which consisted of end-of-life hardware and capacity bottlenecks. The migration was critical to ensure traffic across operations that covered an expansive footprint remained flowing and without any issues and to be also to evolve the network to enable allow future technologies, services, and applications...
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Adaptive Media Awareness - microwave routing White paper: Adaptive Media Awareness - microwave routing
Microwave networks are unique. Unlike fiber, copper, or any other Layer 1 transport technology, non-standard and dynamically changing bandwidths along with complex link aggregation and protection schemes make microwave networks complex and different. Regular routers are not designed for microwave networks and are inefficient and ill-suited to handle traffic in such a network. They rely on slow, protocol-based notifications to gather data from the underlying transport network to optimize their behavior. This lack of an adaptive media awareness negatively impacts network performance, reliability and operations costs significantly.
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CTR Infographic Infographic: CTR Infographic

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The case for Layer 3 Intelligence at the Mobile Cell Site White paper: The case for Layer 3 Intelligence at the Mobile Cell Site

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CTR 8540 Microwave Router Data sheet: CTR 8540 Microwave Router
CTR 8540 introduces a new generation of networking capability via a unique carrier class platform which bridges both microwave and Ethernet/IP/MPLS networking intelligently - enabling providers to save money, simplify their network, and safeguard their future.
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CTR 8500 Microwave Router Brochure: CTR 8500 Microwave Router
The Aviat CTR 8500 is a generation of converged Microwave Routers, a category of products that are designed to simplify mobile operator networks and lower total cost of ownership. Unlike current microwave solutions, which require separate co-located router device, CTR 8500 is the first microwave product to incorporate a full-featured router to reduce the number of devices, save money, and enable new services revenue. CTR 8540 delivers comprehensive microwave and Layer 2 Carrier Ethernet features, all with the highest radio and interface density in the smallest form factor, to really set it apart from the pack. The CTR 8500 has a flexible, open software based architecture, so it can be deployed as a Layer 2 microwave solution, but is IP/MPLS and SDN-ready via simple software upgrade when needed. A flexible, software defined platform, CTR 8500 enables service providers to save money, simplify their network, and safeguard their future.
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What customers and analysts are saying

Juan Andres Guzman Barrios

Chief of Area Connectivity and Transmission Engineering, Entel Chile

As a router, CTR 8540 will enable a range of new IP and VPN services for our mobile backhaul and enterprise applications. Unlike other microwave radios that require adding an expensive, separate IP/MPLS router, CTR 8540 is the only product we found that integrates the microwave radio and IP routing features we need. As the incumbent carrier in Chile, Entel places importance on reducing the number of devices we provision at each cell site to save space and money. CTR does that for us by combining these two functions in one solution.

Emmy Johnson

Founder, Sky Light Research

As a mainstay in the microwave market, Aviat understands the market and has developed a platform that will help operators scale their networks as new applications continue to push network performance.

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